Mark Levine's popular book, Jazz Theory, is a good illustration of jazz pedagogists’ very limited understanding of music history. It basically runs down the Berklee College system of applying chord scales and modes to chord progressions. This makes it necessary to theorize in order to arrive at which of these (arbitrary at best) scales are to be applied. In this way, Greek modal names are applied to a tonal chord system that is in no way modal. Indeed, the European composers, whom jazz musicians emulate, did not employ modes in tonal music: they used non-harmonic tones to propel their lines forward.

This is, I hope, an interesting tidbit of history: A few years ago, while writing my doctoral dissertation, I interviewed Jerry Coker, who was one of the very first to hold a full-time positon as Jazz Professor in a college or university. He admitted to me that he used this modal system--with its Greek names--to impress the classical administrators that dominated the music department—so that they might take jazz education seriously. (They have been in the colleges for well over 100 years, while jazz education was only begrudgedly admitted fewer than 50 years ago.)

Coker explained that had he taught a more direct, common sense traditional approach to this extemporaneous art form, it would have gone right over their heads. They don't like us. The only reason jazz exists in higher education is because of enrollment: Students demand jazz courses.